Social Media can dispel the 1$ a day myth in East Africa

 I don't know about you but I always wonder where the $1 a day statistic often quoted by numerous foreign research houses, broadcasters, international development organizations www.unmillenniumproject.org/resources/fastfacts_e.htm and www.unicef.org/mdg/poverty.html  came from.  Fortunately I'm not the only one dissenting www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-164502.0.html  and http://bit.ly/fjZuN9- but that is besides the point.

What we all know to be true is that the messenger spins the message whichever way he wants- its really much like Chinese Whispers- by the time the message reaches, it has become convoluted and the original meaning has been lost and ultimately you have a watered down or completely different version.

For decades East Africa and the whole of black Africa has had its message spinned for her. Foreigners visit for a week and come out with a research report whose conclusion was written before the plane tickets were bought. What we have therefore is a crude mythical view of East Africa buttressed by black and white despair-filled photos http://bit.ly/frl3rx of Africans in dire circumstances.

While East Africa is rife with poverty, so is North America, http://bit.ly/eNne4j and Europe and Asia and Latin America and...you get the point. The difference is that these continents spin their own beautiful messages that espouse the wonderful things about them.

East Africa needs  to become its own messenger. Social Media platforms allow East Africa to spin its own message- instead of : "East African school children study under trees" (which is true) East Africa can say: "Intelligent East African school children who study under trees...". The way a message is spinned decides the action that will be taken. Pessimistic spins call for pity parties, optimistic spins call for sustainable action. Bloggers, Twitterers, Facebook-ers, YouTube-ers all of these can rally around spinning a positive picture of East Africa. These social tools allow the message to go viral and as a result, change perceptions.

Social Media platforms used effectively can dispel myths and bring out the development (not handouts) that East Africa needs to flourish.

How are you using Social Media to change perceptions?

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Social Media: You reap what you sow

"Is the time injected in social media worth the value you get out"?

This is a great question and we've been hearing it over and over again. The best way to get value
out of social media is to plan what you want to get out of it.As social media becomes increasingly popular, companies are jumping on board without planning a strategy. If your goal is to grow sales, you will probably use the differently platforms differently from business whose goal is to get customer feedback.

It is important therefore to understand that it’s not about spending 24 hours blogging, tweeting and wall posting that's going to bring value-rather it’s about planned, scheduled networking with a specific goal in mind.

For example we have two clients who we are developing strategies for: one is a tours and travel company while the second is a charitable organization. Although they are both going to be using Facebook, their pages are going to be customized with different features that are designed to attract different fan bases.

If you sow in a discriminatory manner your harvest will not be clear but if you plan to sow your time in a very strategic way, you will be able to measure the effort quite clearly.

Technology made in East Africa and Rotten Tomatoes

So why do we have numerous technology institutions if we don't plan to make good use of the graduates churned from them?

Taking a second look at the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010/2011

I have to admit that some of the results that Enterprise Technology captured from this report were surprising-like Rwanda topping the Technology Readiness at 100/139 countries surveyed, though only slightly beating Kenya at 101/136.

In the Technology Innovation category Uganda is second last in East Africa (104/139) after Burundi (134/139) while Tanzania(86/139), Rwanda(71/139) and Kenya (56/139) lead the way.

View the summary PDF.

However, from a bird's eye view if you look generally at East Africa, on the whole we are still using applications that are largely developed outside East Africa. There are thousands of developers dotting the East African continent who have developed user-friendly customizable applications at prices that East Africans can afford, so why are we still bent on looking outward?

Is the flood of foreign products stifling technology innovation in East Africa and keeping us in a comfort zone or is it because the East African market is averse to 'Made in East Africa' products? Why are we so happy to sample expensive 'Rotten Tomatoes' that cannot be customized for East Africa's unique challenges and when fresh natural products are brought to our corporate offices we smile and say: "Don't call me, I'll call you"?

So while I'm glad that Ory has moved into Google Africa policy work, it's a bitter sweet sentiment because I'm somehow inclined to believe that in her own fledgling startup she would have spearheaded another Ushahidi that would have put East Africa's developers on the map.

If we concentrated our resources on honing local developers into razor sharp innovators rather than grabbing the first expensive suite- might we not return revenue to the country and thus live up to the 'Trade not Aid' philosophy that we so love to quote lately?

What else do we have to say?
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The Fairest Electorate

While I have to admit that I am not the most conscientious of voters, I am surprised that even with the widespread availability of technology today, the gimmickry of salt and soap politics are still very much at work in politics in East Africa- specifically Uganda. Whereas technology serves as a great tool for knowing exactly how and where one should expend their campaign coins, politicians and newbies alike are still depending on the trusted henchman and cursory observations to determine where and how to campaign.

Uganda's electoral commission posted details about every single registered voter (albeit a tentative list) along with their names, divisions, parishes and date of birth on the Internet. Interesting. After mining that data for Makindye division, we generated a summary picture of the number of voters- give or take 100 and about 5% margin for error, the age group with the biggest number of registered voters and somewhat not surprising- the percentage of voters who are female.

The parliamentary campaigns are doing 'Business as usual' and unfortunately the only people trying to use some numbers are the usual suspects with poll results skewed in favour of the loudest vendor.
That's why I love Ory Okolloh- she set a precedent; using technology to capture the political atmosphere. If technology cannot be used to mine readily available data to inform the political campaigns, then perhaps the election has already been called and we can all get back to business as usual.
To view Enterprise Technology's Makindye Electorate Fact file, click here and then give us your feedback. Hell, hit us with all you've got.

Why East Africa desperately needs Social Media

We know that the Fortune 500 of North America have prominently used Social Media to extend their brands, engage fans and encourage more brand loyalty but even without mounting the SM wagon I'm pretty sure they would still continue to mint out the millions and billions.

Some of East Africa best brands on the other hand are still swimming in mud ponds and at best shallow waters. Case in point, East Africa is still mostly known for Safaris and Idi Amin and in most cases it is notorious events like political violence and corruption that put the region on the global agenda. How many know of Def.ini.tion? East Africa's brands need to make money, not coins and that wont happen while they are tucked away in the modesty of a small office in downtown cities.

Social Media is a great tool not because it's the best new thing after websites (which i have to admit in East Africa's case have become online brochures thus losing the whole point) but because it relies heavily on social connections which is a key human need. The need to connect with people with whom you share common interests or with people you like and to spread that knowledge is what empowers Social media like Facebook, Blogs, Twitter and a host of other platforms like YouTube.

A well managed Social Media strategy has the following benefits for little known brands that want to get their word out there:
1. Get the company face out there. The more people see your logo and the faces behind the team, the more likely they are to choose you even when your services are wanting (Plenty of telecoms do this)
2. Get your voice heard. You're only as wise as the number of people consulting you for wisdom. Even if you have the best ideas and no one hears them, you're just as empty as the tin you're sitting next to.
3. Sell your services in multiple ways as many social media platforms are integrated and this helps to magnify your online 'ad' especially since information on the net tends to spread much like a virus.

The key to a successful online campaign however is that it must be planned and managed as well as customized to the needs of the specific company.

Here's what we've done with Enterprise Technology

Bursting out of the 'Dark Continent' glove

There are plenty of interesting developments happening in East Africa today that considered on their own are disparate unrelated events, however, observed together, paint a picture of a region bursting out of the 'Dark Continent' glove.

The East African Community Integration is taking off - with plenty of hitches as expected, but nevertheless taking off. A 5 state regional bloc has greater visibility than a single nation and therefore more recognition and so is able to garner more attention.

The growth of academic institutions in the region has created a solid base of multi-skilled labour whose best qualities are entrepreneurship, working around obstacles and being the best copycats (which is good because that is exactly what is driving China's growth).

In East Africa, poverty has been a mixed blessing-forcing citizens and foreigners to create their own opportunities and thus we see businesses long established in the developed world only beginning to flourish here. East Africa has become a landmass of opportunities.

Finally, we have super-fast technology adoption, where the Internet has become the lifeblood for most businesses and should a bomb affect the fibre optic cable that brings that sweet tech blood to the multitudes there will be a massive outcry.

And since they say that what a man discusses most is a reflection of what he values most, then in I-Network Uganda will reveal just how East Africa's population can no longer exist without mobile phones and the Internet whose alias is Facebook. In fact if you are delirious about stats you can find East Africa's internet usage, down to the number, on this site.

What does all of this mean?

It was a phone call I received from a company in an OECD country that startled me out of the 'business as usual' trance. He wanted to know how Enterprise Technology could help his OECD company which was interested in outsourcing various services. He then promptly sent in a preliminary due diligence form to begin the process.

Wait a minute-what happened to the obvious 'India as first choice' and the 'Philippines as a second best' for outsourcing? What about all the other emerging nations?

Even though East Africa's growth seems to be a rickety show fraught with unresolved issues, from the outside looking in, it has become a viable option. Outsiders are anxiously seeking better rates for services and East Africa has most of the right ingredients including skilled labour, technology savvy, quick learning and hunger for the opportunity.

What East Africa now needs is to blow its horn loudly and sharpen its edge because inadvertently the economic conundrum and ensuing search for lower operational costs has turned the spotlight on the 'dark continent'.

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Two fish and five loaves

We had some rather interesting observations from the young technology professionals symposium which you can read in more detail here from our research report http://bit.ly/bHEIr9 but what stood out was that young professionals are hungry for knowledge to get them established firmly in their careers. Although the symposium was slated to end at 3pm we carried on until 5pm as the questions and sessions involved practical job interviews and required role playing.

And so great was the demand that we plan to hold several industry specific symposia in 2011 to address the technology needs of different sectors- media, manufacturing, health, education, telecoms, the list is endless.

The turn up was overwhelming as we got twice the number of participants we had planned for and we had to be very 'creative' in ensuring the two fish and five loaves were sufficient for the crowd. Along the same vein, I think it was a great lesson in entrepreneurship, sometimes you don't really need a cartload of resources to create a sizzling hot event but you do need a lot of creativity and a team with plenty of faith.

Our two fish and five loaves initiative has given us great advantages- grown our fan base, sold our brand, and (unashamedly) positioned Enterprise Technology http://on.fb.me/9S6aRG as strategic partners in reaching tech-nified young professionals.

Until the next miracle- Cheers.